half a year

My wee one is six months old today. i'm amazed, i'm awestruck, i'm blessed, i'm in love, and i'm still a little bit sleepy. As time has a way of doing, these six months have flown, flown, flown right by--it feels like just yesterday that we were snuggling into bed for the first time as a family of FIVE, and she was just so itsy bitsy. I must say, that despite all my fears of having three children, particularly so close in age, and now that we've got a
bit of time for perspective here--that the leap to three hasn't been as
challenging as I envisioned. Really. The jump to two was a challenge-our whole world felt upside down.
But three--really the challenges of three seem more
logistical--bedrooms, cars, table chairs. That stuff I can handle. Three's been great--it's a lot, but it's good. There has been a valuable lesson in 'letting go' for me with three children--we're so clearly outnumbered by the little ones now that it makes no sense to get uptight about plans, and having things just so, or trying to do 'too much'. Letting go of some of that has made room for much more joy.

This not-so-little (oh, those rolls!) girl can completely melt my heart with just one joyous dimple-filled smile, or giggle, or coo. She's a big ball of love, really...and appears to be quite happy to be here. Every single time she wakes from a nap, there's a mad rush to the bedroom by her brothers who want to be the first to greet her. They both climb onto the bed and snuggle up with her, kissing her and telling her how much they love her. I'm sure than any hassle that comes from having two loud brothers around all the time is rewarded by the joy of always waking up to two beings that simply and quite purely want to love, love, love her to pieces--even if the hugs are a little too tight sometimes. And there's nothing more exciting for her to look at or play with than her brothers (or the cat), which I think explains why she's full-on crawling already at 6 months. She wants in on the fun. And she is the fun, too. Happy half birthday, my Adelaide! How about some sweet potato to celebrate?

Comments

half a year

My wee one is six months old today. i'm amazed, i'm awestruck, i'm blessed, i'm in love, and i'm still a little bit sleepy. As time has a way of doing, these six months have flown, flown, flown right by--it feels like just yesterday that we were snuggling into bed for the first time as a family of FIVE, and she was just so itsy bitsy. I must say, that despite all my fears of having three children, particularly so close in age, and now that we've got a
bit of time for perspective here--that the leap to three hasn't been as
challenging as I envisioned. Really. The jump to two was a challenge-our whole world felt upside down.
But three--really the challenges of three seem more
logistical--bedrooms, cars, table chairs. That stuff I can handle. Three's been great--it's a lot, but it's good. There has been a valuable lesson in 'letting go' for me with three children--we're so clearly outnumbered by the little ones now that it makes no sense to get uptight about plans, and having things just so, or trying to do 'too much'. Letting go of some of that has made room for much more joy.

This not-so-little (oh, those rolls!) girl can completely melt my heart with just one joyous dimple-filled smile, or giggle, or coo. She's a big ball of love, really...and appears to be quite happy to be here. Every single time she wakes from a nap, there's a mad rush to the bedroom by her brothers who want to be the first to greet her. They both climb onto the bed and snuggle up with her, kissing her and telling her how much they love her. I'm sure than any hassle that comes from having two loud brothers around all the time is rewarded by the joy of always waking up to two beings that simply and quite purely want to love, love, love her to pieces--even if the hugs are a little too tight sometimes. And there's nothing more exciting for her to look at or play with than her brothers (or the cat), which I think explains why she's full-on crawling already at 6 months. She wants in on the fun. And she is the fun, too. Happy half birthday, my Adelaide! How about some sweet potato to celebrate?

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Greetings! I'm Amanda Blake Soule - mother of five, author of three books on family creativity, and editor-in-chief of Taproot Magazine. I live with my family in an old farmhouse in Western Maine where we raise animals, grow vegetables and make lots of things. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting!